The Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 has somewhat of a legendary status among Fujifilm X users. It is an excellent lens in the realm of traditional portrait focal lengths that has a gorgeous sharp-but-not-sharp quality about it that renders close-up portraits in a very flattering way. There’s also the gorgeous bokeh that lends itself well to those backlit foliage scenes that family and couple photographers love to use. Not to mention, once stopped down, it’s about as sharp as a lens can get for all the detail junkies out there.

For me, this lens sees plenty of use at corporate events and couple sessions. Autofocus is quick and accurate in AF-S mode and it’s light gathering ability means I don’t need to crank up my ISO. When working with fast-paced subjects, like children at my family sessions, I tend to gravitate more to the XF 50mm f/2 as it focuses much more confidently in AF-C mode. That’s not to say that the 56mm can’t keep up, but the hit rate is much higher with the newer lens.

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I recently took a short personal trip to lock myself in a room and put a few days of work into my Tattoos of Asia book project. I looked up and down the east coast of Korea for small villages that had accomodation. These spots might be packed in the summer, but I guessed that with the winter winds blowing, I’d be almost alone for most days. The villages of Gampo, Jeonchon, and Najeong are exactly what I was looking for, so I took a bus from Gyeongju to the end of the line and found myself a room.

Villages like these typically have “pension” style hotels and campgrounds for the summer months. A handful of small restaurants serve the incoming crowd with, usually, mediocre quality. A good portion of a town’s annual income is made then. In the past, it was common for people to stay in minbak (homestay) style accommodation. Over time, this has faded, but every second house in town will still rent you a room if you’d like. Few residents still call these towns home and they are extremely peaceful off-season.

The remnants of these towns and this culture along with the sound of the waves were what I hoped I might find in my early morning walks. These peaceful starts to my day would fuel the long writing sessions I was setting for myself each day. With a coffee in one hand and a camera in the other, I spent 5 mornings walking a 2km stretch of coast and came back with this small essay. I hope you enjoy it.

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2020 has been simultaneously one of the longest and shortest I can remember. While moments seemed to drag on forever, weeks and months flew by. I am extremely lucky that I have had work during this time and am thankful to everyone who has chosen to use my services over the course of this year. I have a complete look at the year in my business over at WelkinLight Photography. This year, however, I thought I would also restart my review of my personal favourites on this site as well.

This year has been an interesting one with plenty of down-time, but I have made as much effort as I could to get out and continue photographing the world in the way I see it. So, in no particular order, here are 20 of my favourite images that I have made over the course of this year. Accompanying each is a short story, some annecdotal, some technical, and some just about a feeling. I hope you’ll enjoy the ride.

Naraen

Opening this year is my portrait of Naraen, a Tanshan man from the Naga Self-Administered Zone in Myanmar. At the beginning of the year, I was lucky enough to travel before the pandemic hit and even luckier to be welcomed into the home of Naraen to listen to his story. In his younger years, he was called to defend his village from an attack by a neighbouring village and successfully defeated an enemy. Returning to the village with the enemy’s head entitled Naraen to his “necklace” tattoo. You can read more about tribal tattooing in Asia over on my Tattoos of Asia Project minisite.

Equipment: Fujifilm GFX 50R, GF 45mm f/2.8, Godox AD200

Hongreyongsa

The mountain temple of Hongryeongsa is a location I’ve been meaning to get to for years. I finally had the opportunity this year in the middle of monsoon season and braved torrential rains to get there. The mountains were shrouded in fog and the rain was relentless. For most people, this might not sound like a great day to go out, but for Roy Cruz and I, it was perfect. The best photographs are often made in the worst conditions and we got soaked to the bone in the effort of getting our respective images. For me, this kind of weather gets me into an almost meditative state and I wanted to express the calm I felt rather than the wildness of the weather. Hence, I chose a long shutter speed to blur the waterfall and lessen the appearance of the pouring rain.

Equipment: Fujifilm GFX 50R, GF 32-64mm f/4

Mt Fuji

While this image might not be technically or artistically the most impressive frame of Mt Fuji we’ve ever seen, it is my image of Mt Fuji. In January of this year, I had the opportunity to hop on a bus one afternoon and make the journey out to Kawaguchiko. I’ve been to Japan no fewer than 10 times, but I had never taken the journey out to see the mountain until now. It was a boyhood dream of mine to stand there and see it with my own eyes and I finally had the chance to do so. I’m not ashamed to say that there was a (frozen) tear in my eye. With the winter winds blowing, it was somewhat chilly and sunrise and I hope you’ll be able to feel those things from this image.

Equipment: Fujifilm X100F, TCL Conversion Lens, Haida M7 with Red Diamond ND Filter

Monsoon Sky

Every year in Korea, we have a monsoon season of varying intensity. This year, it was completely relentless. We had dozens of rainy days and several typhoons to fortify those stormy days. We saw our rivers break their banks and flood our cities. People lost their homes and possessions, and some unlucky people even lost family members. It was an extremely dramatic time of the year. In between the rainfall and stifling heat, I made a point to get out and photograph the beauty of the skies during this time. One of my favourite images is this simple one of the ridgelines of Dobongsan shrouded in clouds. It was a pleasure to watch these clouds twist their way across the peaks with the of the mountain.

Equipment: Fujifilm GFX 50R, GF 45-100mm f/4

Changdeokgung in Snow

Snow, especially the kind that settles, is not as common in Seoul as the tourism board might have you believe. We typically get snowfall when the temperature is just dipping below zero. By the time the population starts to move around the city, it all just turns to brown slush and the beauty is gone in an instant. So, it really pays to watch the weather and be ready to move as soon as you see the snowfall start. I woke up early on this December morning as it was said to snow all night. I looked out the window and immediately threw on some warm clothes. I was headed to the palace district to get some early morning images before the snow disappeared. I got to the palace just as it was opening and grabbed one of the first tickets. As I walked in, I shuffled quickly to the main thoroughfare before anyone else and managed to capture this frame of the staff sweeping the paths while the snow was still falling. I got about an hour of photography in before the snowfall started to slow and the foot traffic turned it to mush. It’s times like these that I’m glad I live close enough to be able to photograph these things.

Equipment: Fujifilm GFX 50R, GF 45-100mm f/4

Foggy Nakdonggang

At the end of October this year, I rode my bicycle from Seoul to Busan as a bit of a personal challenge. More about that experience can be found in my full post. On day 3, I stopped in a small town outside of Sangju for the night and when I awoke, I could see the frost on the rooftops and the fog rising from the river. I quickly devoured the gorgeous soontubu stew my hosts had prepared for breakfast and headed down to the riverside. As the sun rose, the cool morning air was offset by the warm tone of the early morning light and I was able to make one of my favourite images of the year. This simple image summed up the southern half of the ride for me. I was surrounded by reeds, fog, and beautiful sunrises for this section. This made for an exceptionally enjoyable finish to the ride.

Equipment: Fujifilm X-T3, XF 50mm f/1

Apro Lee

In April, I had the opportunity to interview a man I have long admired, Apro Lee. It was great to be able to talk with him about his thoughts on tattoo culture past, present, and future. We had a long conversation, which I’ve distilled into a blog post here. For this particular portrait, I wanted to dismiss all the notions of what is right and wrong in terms of lens choice and composition. I deliberately gave him more presence in the frame with a wide-angle lens that slightly distorted the proportions of the image and allowed for this messy and imperfect composition. I felt that this described better the conversation we’d had and his views on the state of the tattoo industry.

Equipment: Fujifilm GFX 100, GF 23mm f/4

Ringing the Bell

This image was taken at a local temple as the monk rang the evening bell. The image itself was made just before the monk invited my wife and I back to his quarters for a cup of coffee and a conversation. He was curious as to what had brought us to the small temple and wanted to share with us whatever wisdom he could. We discussed the nature of struggle and how any of us can improve ourselves. It was truly empowering to hear that even a monk, who has dedicated his life to self-improvement, still finds struggle in his desires. He noted that we probably hadn’t met too many monks who enjoy drip coffee.

Equipment: Fujifilm X100V

Egret

As I cycled my local stream countless times this year, I watched the ducks and egrets catching their feed and warming themselves in the sun. Only recently did I stop to make a few photographs of them. We often joke in Seoul that the only living things aside from humans are the mosquitoes, so it has certainly been great seeing the wild birds as I ride. Next year, I hope to extend this into a collection of the various birds we see. Close to sunset during winter, we get some beautiful angular light that gives great contrast for images like this.

Equipment: Fujifilm X-T4, XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8

Thiam

Here is another portrait from my visit to Myanmar for the Tattoos of Asia project. This is Thiam, a Khiamniungan woman who was tattooed as a child at the behest of her parents. While it was normal in her time, she says that she sometimes feels shy now as she’s one of the only ladies left with the marks of her people. What I loved most about this image was the simple and honest way she looked at my camera. There wasn’t really much that I needed to do for this portrait but press the button. She held her gaze and let me know that this was who she was. Her story and portrait will certainly take centre stage in the final book of this project.

Equipment: Fujifilm GFX 50R, GF 110mm f/2, Godox AD200

East Coast Rocks

Korea’s east coast is dotted with white sandy coast and rocky outcrops that draw photographers as often as beachgoers. Spending time in the little towns along this coast is something I love to do and recently had another chance to experience. I love the feeling of long-exposure images over the ocean and when the waves are strong enough, it’s possible to give an almost foggy appearance to the water like in this image. The feeling it evokes for me is like mountain peaks rising out of the fog, much like Korea’s soomookhwa paintings.

Equipment: Fujifilm X-T4, XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8, Haida M10 with Red Diamond ND filter

Sunset Fishing

One of the goals I set myself as 2020 began to nosedive was to look for more positive things to photograph. Over the course of the year, I’ve given a lot of thought to the things that make me happy. One of those is certainly water. I love oceans, rivers, and rain. I spent quite a while photographing this gentleman as he pulled in his lines, rebaited them, and cast back into the water. All the while, I finessed my composition and waited for the right moment. I feel like this moment here best expressed the care he was taking to set his lines.

Equipment: Fujifilm X100V

Gyeongbokgung Lightning

This is one of those images I wish I could have predicted and prepared better for. I set out from home because the clouds were looking amazingly dramatic and I wanted to photograph the palace with those clouds before the rain, which wasn’t forecast for another few hours, set in and made things difficult for photography. So, I packed a small kit and jumped on my bicycle. Just as I was crossing the road to the palace, the skies opened up and some of the heaviest rain I have ever been caught in anywhere in the world came down. I ducked under the gates to keep relatively dry and maybe get a few images of others, like myself, dashing through the rain. Then I saw it, the unicorn; a lightning bolt in Seoul. I quickly set up in the hope that maybe, just maybe, I’d catch another bolt if one happened to strike and happened to strike within my composition. I hedged my bets by setting the intervalometer to automatically make an image every second and went about photographing other things with my X-T3 and XF 50-140mm f/2.8 while I waited. It wasn’t until I got home that I saw I’d got lucky. I’d only seen two more flashes of lightning and I’d caught one of them!

Equipment: Fujifilm X-T4, XF 10-24mm f/4

Yangon Train Station

This might be one of my favourite locations in the world. No matter how many times I visit Yangon, I always find time to photograph the central station. At sunrise, like this, it is a hive of activity and the light streams in from one side. On this trip, I spent two mornings and change walking the platforms in search of compositions. This frame was one I worked hard on. Getting the right character without others around and having the foot-fall be just right required a little extra patience. In the end, it was worth it!

Equipment: Fujifilm X100F

Dongmyo Market Morning

Dongmyo Flea Market and the surrounding streets are a hive of activity and a gathering place for the city’s elderly. Overpriced retro goods, bargain second-hand clothing, and soju by the cup are just a few of the things that can be purchased at the market. However, it is the mornings and evenings before and after it opens and closes that are truly intriguing. The layers of old and new, the market folk going about their own business, and of course, the textures of the buildings that allow the trade to take place, are all unincumbered. This image has so many small details that I love about Seoul in it.

Equipment: Fujifilm X100F

Temple and Nun

In another trip with my good friend Roy Cruz during the monsoon, we made our way to the Haeinsa Temple complex in Gayasan National Park. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Tripitaka Koreana, but when we learned that it had been closed off to the public, we spent our time exploring some of the smaller temples around the main complex. This is certainly an area I will come back to and photograph again, but I got some images that I’m really happy with this time around, as well. It is so rare to be able to find a peaceful temple with no bustling tourism or loudspeakers playing pre-recorded chants in the north of the country, so it was refreshing to be able to spend time photographing an empty temple with a single nun walking the grounds.

Equipment: Fujifilm X100V

Sanbangsan

Equipment: Fujifilm X100V,  Haida M7 with Red Diamond ND Filter

Craftsman

When I heard that I’d be getting to use Fujifilm’s GFX 100 for a couple of days, I immediately began searching for subjects to continue my ongoing project about Korea’s artisans. Getting people to agree to a photo session at the beginning of the pandemic was not easy, but I finally found Im Soongook. As a maker of Korea’s traditional stringed instruments, he was the perfect subject for my project. We ended up spending far more time together than we’d originally planned as he walked me through every step of creating his geomungo and gayageum. Below is a simple portrait we made to wrap up the session.

Equipment: Fujifilm GFX 100, GF 50mm f/3.5

Sunrise over East Coast

I mentioned above how much I love water. Watching it drag itself over the rocks in a whitewash on the way in and then in beautiful lines on the way out was mesmerising. Even though I had a harbour to my left, fishing boats on the horizon, and a breakwater with crashing waves to my right, it was the simplicity of the waves touching the shore that held my attention this morning. I hope that this photograph can convey what it was like to watch that repetition.

Equipment: Fujifilm X100V

Prayer

To finish this series of my favourite images of 2020, I wanted to share another image from my visit to the small temple where I spent time with the monk. One of the things I was curious about was what people pray for. Praying to the Buddha has always seemed a little at odds with Buddhism to me and I wanted to understand what it is that drives people. He chuckled and said that it can be just about anything. People come selfishly wishing for wealth or fame, the come in the hope that someone can heal their loved ones, and at times, they just need someone to hear their pain in the hope that it will dimish if it is said aloud. I wondered to myself what it was that this woman, masked and alone, was hoping for as she made her prayers.

Equipment: Fujifilm GFX 50R, GF 45-100mm f/4

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this small collection of images that I made over the course of 2020. Have a great start to the new year and I wish you health and happiness throughout. Until next time, thanks for joining me here.

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I recently visited Danyang with my good friend Roy Cruz to photograph the triple peaks of Dodamsambong in the river there. I’ve been waiting on my schedule and the weather to line up for several years now so when I saw that there would be heavy snowfall there, I quickly booked a train and guesthouse to make it happen. 12 hours later, I met up with Roy in Danyang and we went to scout our location before the snowfall began.

We recorded some video while we were down there that served as a base for talking about the images themselves. So, on top of these five tips here, I’ve also included that video at the bottom of this page. It contains another 12 tips for making the most of a commonly photographed scene. If you’re so inclined, please head over and watch that as well. For now, though, let’s take a look at a few images from the trip.

Tip 1: Scout

Whenever you have a chance to see a location before you’ll be photographing it, take that chance. With each and every family photography session I do, I take the opportunity to scout beforehand. This allows me to understand the scene, see if there have been any changes since my last visit, and also drum up new ideas as I walk around without haste. The other benefit of this is that the conditions are likely to be different than when you actually photograph the scene, so there’s an opportunity to make a set of photographs that are different from the ones you originally intended.

On our scout day, there was no snow. However, we were greeted with a frozen river reflecting the clear blue sky. This distinct scene gave us the ability to create images we hadn’t intended. Here are a couple of those.

Tip 2: Get the Image You Came to Get

If you’re visiting a location, chances are you’ve probably seen photographs of it before or have an idea of what you’d like to come home with photographically. While it can be helpful in planning to get an idea of what you’ll find, expectations can leave you stunted when you arrive. If the conditions present, I always find it helpful to clear my mind by getting that first image out of the way so I can effectively see other compositions.

I absolutely love east-Asian-ink-wash painting (known as soomookhwa in Korea) and that’s what snow-covered scenes in Korea always remind me of. So, for my first image of the day, I set out to make a photograph that represented that in my mind. I was looking for something minimal, black-and-white, and high contrast in the style of those paintings. Knowing that my mind has a tendency to focus on an image and not falter from that until the mission is complete, I was relieved when we stepped out of the car and there was a fierce wind blowing the freshly fallen snow into clouds around the peaks. This was exactly what I wanted and so I quickly made a set of images so I could move on and begin experimenting with different photographs.

Tip 3: Shoot to the Conditions

What happened next, I could not have predicted in the slightest. The weather forecast had heavy cloud cover and snow falling all day. But, the snow wasn’t coming down at this time and there was a slight break in the clouds that allowed some colour from the sunrise to come through behind the peaks.

Over the course of about 5 minutes, that colour went from a faint glow to some fairly saturated highlights in the sky. I took both of these as cues to photograph extremely wide panoramas that took in the entire scene. If I had stuck to my original ideas, I would not have come home with these two images. They’re some of my favourites from the day, so I’m glad I took the opportunity to follow the conditions presented to me.

Tip 4: Change Your Perspective

There’s nothing quite so powerful for making a variety of images than having a variety of experiences. Taking the time to move around the scene and see how things look from different angles can lead to more interesting images than originally planned. Always try to walk around things in different ways, get up high, get down low, and look for foreground elements.

For this scene, we had the benefit of not only the riverside angle but the ability to climb a small hill beside the peaks. This gave us a completely different angle and allowed for a view of the scene not usually photographed by the masses of visitors.

Tip 5: Have a Coffee

The act of having a coffee doesn’t necessarily directly affect your photography. However, it does give you time to relax and clear your head. It also gives the weather time to develop. If you don’t drink coffee, try tea or even a snack. Your beverage of choice is inconsequential.

During our coffee on this particular day, the snow began to come down heavily and we dashed out to make more images of the scene. By taking a break, we’d revitalised our brains a little and allowed the day to develop. Here are a couple from that final session.

If you’re interested in the gear I used here, you can check out my gear section. Specifically, I had the GFX 50R, GF 45-100mm f/4, and my trusty X100V on this trip.

Video

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With a cold front coming down from Siberia, we had some of our chilliest temperatures in a while here in Seoul. This winter has been mild by any standard, with plenty of days well above freezing. But this cold snap froze the Han River and covered the ground in ice for at least a week. Even as I’m writing this, almost a month later, parts of the river still haven’t thawed completely.

Most years, I find myself in South, or South-East, Asia during the coldest months in Korea. It is the time of year when business is quiet and I can escape to a warmer climate to work on Tattoos of Asia. This year, however, the pandemic has prevented that respite from Seoul and I took the opportunity to photograph the river at this time. I hope you’ll enjoy the images.

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One of the most liberating ways to escape the grips of the pandemic has been to spend time cycling the rivers of Korea. The Geumgang Path makes its way east from the port city of Gunsan to the northern edge of Daejeon. The river winds through ancient Baekje territory and the modern administrative capital of Sejong. This was my wife’s first long-distance ride, so we decided to take it slow and enjoy the scenery.

Day 1 – Gunsan-Buyeo

After taking a morning bus to Gunsan from Seoul, we dropped into a local hotspot for lunch to fill up on spicy chicken soup before hitting the paths. The official path begins a few kilometres outside of the city centre at the final weir on the river. The mudflats at this time of year are littered with a few leftover nets and dotted with birds pecking for food. The post-storm skies were moody and the wind that came with them was quite strong, but we made our way out of the city and the river opened up before us.

As we made our way towards Iksan, rows of cherry blossoms and the crowds they draw meant a slow going journey with plenty to look at. While the blossoms were pretty, I feel like this section of the ride would be a lot nicer with the fresh greens of May or the post-summer lush grasses. The mountains and woods of this section of the path are spectacular and would be at their best with a little more regrowth.

Nonetheless, the edge of the storm provided a gorgeous sunset background for the last 20km of the path into Buyeo. The higher water levels from the storm brought the fishermen out in droves and the elk skitting across the path to drink from the river. We even spotted a few eagles circling overhead. It was a wonderful change from Seoul, where the only animals are pigeons and mosquitoes!

Day 2 – Buyeo-Daejeon

We had initially intended to keep this day almost free of riding and only make our way from Buyeo to Gongju. In truth, these are the most interesting stops along the way, so we wanted to take in some of the historical sights before moving on. In the end, it didn’t work out that way. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

I started the morning with a quick ride over to watch the sunrise in Buyeo’s Gungnamji Park. This gorgeous manmade pond is surrounded by dozens of smaller ponds with paths that wind between them. All are filled with lillies, ducks, or reflections of the trees above. This park alone would have been worth the journey. With the cold night caused by the storm, I was hoping for fog on the pond but that was not to be. Still, I managed a few nice images of the scene before breakfast.

After a cup of coffee, we visited the UNESCO listed site of the Baekje era temple Jeongnimsa. The museum was under renovation, but we were still able to visit the grounds and see the Baekje style of painting on the building that houses the remains of the Buddha statue. Once the Silla dynasty took over, the much more complex and busy style of painting we see on Seoul’s palaces was in vogue. It was nice to see the simpler decoration of the Baekje kingdom.

After that, it was back on the road with gimbab in the bag to make our way to Gongju. Without the previous day’s wind, we made good time and had the whole afternoon to explore the Gongsan Fortress. This made for a great break from cycling and a chance to stretch a different set of muscles. I highly recommend it, if only just for that!

We decided we’d do the extra few kilometres after this and stay the night in Sejong. When we arrived, however, we discovered that the river just touched the southern end of the city and the distance to any of the hotels in Sejong would have been the same as finishing the ride to Daejeon. So, we opted for the latter. This ended up being quite a good decision as the section of river after Gongju isn’t particularly interesting. Sejeong is just a cluster of apartment buildings and the north side of Daejeon is dotted with factories and not much else. At one point, the path even takes you through the grounds of a cement factory! This was a far cry from the beauty of Buyeo and Gongju, so we’re glad we made the extra effort.

Day 3 – Daecheong Dam

The previous day’s ride left us with just 7km until the end of the path at Daecheong Dam. On the way back we dropped down into the Lohas Family Park and sipped coffee while watching kindergarten children chase the falling cherry blossoms. The perfect way to finish off the ride.

Overall, the Geumgang Path is a nice ride. The Sejong and Daejeon areas detract a bit from the historical and natural scenery of the rest of the ride, but knuckling down and getting through those opens up to some of the nicest areas of Korea. If I were to do the ride again, I’d start in Daejeon, skip straight to Gongju and stay the night there. Then on day 2, I’d ride all the way through to Gunsan with a lunch stop in Buyeo. Just my take on the more interesting parts of the ride. I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey with me.

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After last year’s cycling trip from Seoul to Busan, I’ve got a real taste for exploring the country on my bicycle. Before I start simply taking random directions and exploring the nooks and crannies of towns and villages, I’ve decided that I want to complete Korea’s “Grand Slam” and this trip to Jeju Island was a part of that.

The official name for the cycling path that circumnavigates the island is the “Jeju Fantasy Bicycle Path.” A few thoughts to come on that name, but let’s start with getting there are the parts of the island that it touches.

Getting There

Originally, I’d actually considered cycling from Gwangju to Mokpo and then taking the ferry across to Jeju, but time constraints prevented this. I’d still love to take that ferry, but flying was my best option this time. Next time!

The Seoul-Jeju airline route is the single busiest area of the skies on the planet and there are flights taking off every 5 minutes from Gimpo from around 6am until 9pm. That’s the easy part.

From there, you need to get your bike down to Jeju (of course, you could rent one on the island as well, but I took my own). Several airlines will take your bike as “sports cargo” for around a 10,000KRW fee as long as it is packed and doesn’t exceed their weight limits. First, I considered using Gimpo’s oversized baggage packing service, but they wanted 40,000KRW each way and were using cardboard to pack the bike which would need to be disposed of after landing and provide very little protection for the bike during the flight. Eventually, I came across a brand new service called Roundel Cycle Touring Club that was offering reusable bike boxes that could be rented for 48,000KRW for a round trip. This meant no additional garbage created, lower cost, and a safer way to pack my bike. All good things in my book.

The Path

The Jeju Fantasy Bicycle Path snakes its way around the coast of the island much like the 1132 highway. In fact, it shares the highway and the coastal road for most of the journey. Beginning in Jeju city, it takes you south through Aewol, Hallim, and Gosan until you finally reach Sagye and Songaksan. Then it takes you across the southern coast through the resort town of Jungmun, Seogwipo City, and out to Pyoseon before turning north towards Seongsan Sunrise Peak. From there, you follow the northern coast through Gimneyong and Hamdeok before heading back into Jeju City.

In terms of the quality of the views, this path is second-to-none here in Korea. However, in terms of the quality of the path itself, I feel like that’s where the word fantasy really comes in. It seems like Jeju is expecting you to fantasize that there are no broken soju bottles littering the path, no drunk Olle Trail walkers sharing your road, no farmers dumping piles of soil on the path, no cars parked along it, and no potholes large enough to swallow a tractor. Simply put, about half of the path is excellent and the other half is in complete disarray. In many sections, it was safer to ride on the 1132 highway with cars and trucks than to ride on the bike path itself. Especially for those with road bikes (thin tyres!), very few were taking the actual bike path for these sections.

I did the path in three days so I could spend time photographing the island and enjoying the sunshine whenever I found a nice spot to stop. Even then, however, I was done early each day and could have easily completed the riding in two days. I’d recommend aiming for 2 days if you’re just riding, or 3-4 days if you want to make the most of the island and explore things off the bike path.

The Views

There isn’t really much to be said about the views on Jeju. They’re spectacular and are a must for anyone visiting Korea. I’ll leave you with some images from the ride.

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